Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-12-23
CHAPTER VII.
A TRAGI-COMEDY IN A CAB.

CHAPTER VII.
A TRAGI-COMEDY IN CAB.
In front of Donaldson's hospital, Joh1,
counted it good fortune to perceive a cab a
great way off, and by much shouting and
waving of his arm to catch the notice of the
driver He counted it good fortune, for the
time was long to him till he should have done
forever with the lodge; and the further he
must so to find a cab, the greater the chance
that the inevitable discovery had taken place,
and that he should return to find the garden
full of angry neighbors. Yet when tho
vehicle drew up he was sensibly chagrined to
recognize the port wine cabman of the night
before. Here he could not but reflect,
here is another link in the Judicial Error"
The driver, on the other hand, was pleased
to drop again upon 50 liberal a fare; os he
was a mantle reader must already have
perceived-of easy, not to say familiar, man.
ners, he dropped at once into a vein of
friendly talk commenting on the weather,
on the sacred season, which struck him chiefly
in the light of n day of liberal iratuties, on
the chance which had reunited him to a
pleasing customer, and on the fact that John
had been las he was pleased to call it, vsibly
Ion the randan' the night before
And We look dreidful bad the day. sir, l
nothing like dram for yeti yell take my
advice of il; and bein' as it's Christmas, I'm
no saying" he added with a fathery smile,
''but what l would join We myself"
John had listened with sick heart.
"lll give you a dram when we've got
through" said he, affecting a sprightliness
which sat on him most unhandsomely. "and
not drop till then. Business first, and
pleasure afterWardn
With this promise the jarvey was prevailed
upon to Chamber TO his place and drive, with
hideous dcliberation, TO the door of the lodge
There were no signs as yet of any public
emotion; only, two men stood not far off in
talk, and their presence, seen from afar, set
Johns pulses buzzing. He might have spared
himself his fright, for the pair were lost in
some dispute of a theological complexion, and
with heightened upper lip and enumerating
fingers, pursued the matter of their differ
ence, and paid no heed to John.
But the cabman proved u thorn in tie
flesh Nothing would keep him on his perch
le must Chamber down, comment upon the
pebble in the door (which he regarded as an
ingenious but unsafe device, help John with
the portmanteau, and enliveu matters with
Cow of speech, and especially Of questions,
which | thus Condense
Well, he's an eccentric mana fair oddity--
if ye ken the expression Great trouble with
his tenants, they tell me. I've driven the
family f j. years. drove a cab at his fathers
waddin'. N'hat'll vour name be' l should
ken your face. Baigrey, ye sayf There We're
Baigreys about Gimerton; yell be one Of
that lot? Then this'll be a friends portmantie,
hkel Why; Because the name upon it's
nicholson Oh, if ye're in a hurry that's
another job. Waverley Brig Are ye for
awayT'
So the friendly topper prated and questioned
and kept Johns heart in & fiutter But to
this also, as to other evils under the sun, there
came a period, and tho victim Of circum-
stances began at last to rumble toward the
railway terminus at Waverley Bridge. Dur
ing the transit he sat with raised glasses in
the frosty chill and moldy fetor of his chariot,
and glanced out sdelonS on tho holiday face
of things, the suffered shops and the crowds
along the pavement, much as the rider in the
Tyburn cart may have observed tho con-
course gathering to his execution.
At the station his spirits rose again; an
other stage of his escape was fortunately
ended-he began to spy blue water He
called a railway porter, and babe him carry
the portmanteau to the cloak room; not that
he had any notion of delay; fight, instant
flight was his design no matter whittier; but
he had determined to dismiss the cabman ere
he named, or even he chose his destination,
thus possibly baking the Judicial Error of an
other link. This was his cunning aim, and now
with one foot ON the roadway, and one still
on the coach step, he had made haste TO put
the thing in practice, and plunged his hand
into his trousers pocket,
There was nothing there!
Oh, yes; this time he was to blame He
should have remembered and when he de-
serted his blood stained pantaloons, he
should not have deserted along with them
his purse. Make the most uI h' error, and
then compare it with tlr punishment Con-
ceive his new position, Tor | lack words to
picture it; conceive him condemned to re-
turn to that house, from tho very thought of
which his soul rcvolted and once more 10
expose himself TO capture on the very scene
of the miSIr,'l conceive him linked to tho
mody cab and the f. nliar cabman. John
cursed the cabmnn silently, and then 1t &C
CURED to him that he must stop the lncar-
ceration OF hs portmanteau; that, at least,
he must keep close at hand, and he turned
to recall the porter. But his reflections,
brief as they had appeared, must have occu-
pied him longer than lie supposed, and there
was the man already returning with the re-
ceipt
Well, that was settled; ne had lost his port
mantoau also; for the sixpence with which he
had paid the Murraytieid toll was ono that
and unless he once more successfully achieved